Cullen v Secretary, Department of Education, Skills & Employment

In *Cullen v Secretary, Department of Education, Skills & Employment*, Jarrett J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an appeal by Mr Stephen Cullen against a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Mr Cullen had been receiving Newstart Allowance, and his payments were suspended after he did not accept an employment opportunity at a fruit shop. The core of the dispute concerned whether Mr Cullen had been made a genuine offer of employment, which he then refused, thereby breaching the conditions of his allowance.

The legal issue before the Court was whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal had erred in law in its determination that Mr Cullen had been offered suitable employment and had refused it. Mr Cullen contended that he had not been offered a job but rather was presented with a job description, and that the Tribunal's findings were based on a mischaracterisation of the interaction with the prospective employer. The Court was required to assess if the Tribunal's factual findings, which led to the suspension of his allowance, were infected by an error of law.

Jarrett J found that the appeal raised no questions of law and demonstrated no error of law by the Tribunal. The Court accepted the respondent's submission that Mr Cullen was seeking a merits review of the Tribunal's decision, which is not permissible in this context. The Judge noted that Mr Cullen's extensive points of appeal appeared to be a response to the evidence presented at the Tribunal hearing, rather than an identification of legal error. Consequently, the amended application was dismissed.